I'm Fine
by SpeedbuggyBurrito
Summary: Jaime Reyes was never one to tell people when he was sick. He prefered to suck it up and carry on. After the events of "Runaways", he might have taken it too far. And it's a little too late to fix it now. Bluepulse/slash, BrotherlySuperboy
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi! This is my first Young Justice fic and my second time writing a fic soooooo please be nice. Actually, don't be nice. I need honest criticism...But nice would be prefered. No flames? Did I use that term correctly? Whatever, I'm babbling. Anyways, that last episode completely threw me off guard. Just...why? We trusted you Green Beetle! We trusted you! And poor Jaime...He has gone through too much bullshit. Did anyone else notice how close Jaime and Bart got? Like, maybe we actually do have a chance at seeing them gay for eachother. Pffffft, of course we don't. If Cartoon Network showed 'gay' couples, some closed-minded parents or kids some where would throw a shit-fit. I've been talking too long. Sorry!**

Jaime was trying to pay attention, he really was, but it was proving to be difficult. Nightwing continued to give an extremely long speech about the new knowledge of the Reach, which Jaime knew he should be listening to but _he couldn't_, and somehow didn't notice that Blue Beetle was slowly crumbling where he stood. The whole Team listened eagerly to Nightwing as he went on and on about the aliens, but Jaime was unable to. His heartbeat was too loud to ignore and the blood pumping in his ears didn't help. Everything was blurry, he could only make out blobs of what he assumed were his teammates, and the world spun so viguriously that Jaime was surprised he was still standing. He was sweating terribly and with every shaky breath he could almost taste the musky salt. He trembled violently, but then he realized, he couldn't move.

His arms were crossed across his chest and he had a blank expression painted across his features, but he was frozen like that. He couldn't move. He couldn't lift his arms, couldn't move his legs, _couldn't move_. Hell, he wasn't even blinking on his own. This scared him even more. He didn't understand why, or how, or when but it was happening. And it didn't look like it was stopping.

He wanted to reach out and make somebody_ just look _at him but he wasn't in control of his body. He wanted to scream because everything was starting to _hurt_ now and he was scared. Terrified. But he chose to stand in the back that day so no one would notice until it was too late. He was yelling internally, as if doing so would catch somebody's attention, but the only one who would hear him was Miss Martian and she was uncomfortable using psychic links after they got Aqualad back. Jaime felt his chest constrict as air was slowly drained from him. His eyes would have widened if he could actually move them.

_**Jaime Reyes...**_

His heart sunk.

_Kahjii Dah..?_

_**The Reach...has put us...Don't trust the Green...Why have you betrayed us?**_

___Wha-what?_

_**I-I tried to stop it...Too powerful...too weak...**_

_ I don't understand-_

_** MODE**_

__A sudden pain shot up his spine and he felt as if it was being ripped out of his back, but his body didn't react. His body didn't even flinch. He felt thousands of thick, sharp needles tear out every vertebre in his back bone and the shock waves echoed in his head, but he didn't move. Miss Martian shrieked, catching everybody off guard, and fell to her knees, clutching her head and wailing as her eyes glowed green, but Jaime. Couldn't. Move. The pain was more intense now, travelling from his spine to his organs and slicing them apart. They felt like they were collapsing in on themselves, but were filled with acid that leaked everywhere on his insides and burnt the tissue. Nobody noticed though.

Most of his teammates surrounded the Martian on the floor, who was screaming at the top of her lungs in agony, but some stood idly off to the side, unsure of what to do. M'gann collapsed onto the floor, Beast Boy barely catching her head before it hit the ground. She started to convulse violently and thrashed about, but gathered enough air to yell:

"**Save him!**"

Bumblebee searched the Martian's face frantically, as if her expression would clarify what she had just said. "Save who, M'gann? Save who?!"

Jaime couldn't breathe. His lungs felt like someone was just stomping on them and his throat felt painfully swollen. He could barely hear himself begin to hyperventilate, but the Martian's cries roared over his barely there voice. He had no oxygen to fuel him and the twisted pits of his organ system were pushed together so tight that it was easy to think that it was the end. He was suffocating and it would kill him. He thought that finally, _finally_, the sweet embrace of death would wash away his pain, but he had never had the best of luck. He had heard it first, the sound of his armor morphing to squeeze tighter and the sickening crunch of broken bones, before he felt it, and it was only then that he was able to force out the smallest of noises.

A whimper.

Connor froze. He was crouched beside his ex-lover and trying to calm her with smooth words and soft brushes to her face, but even over her booming sobs he could hear it. It was only then that he could hear the accelerated heartbeat, much faster than the others, it was then that he could hear the sound of rupturing organs, and it was then that he could hear the cracks of a skeletal structure. Slowly, so slowly, he turned his head towards the sound. There he stood, his arms crossed infront of his chest and a blank expression plastered on his face. But it didn't take super-seeing to notice that the blue and black armor was just too tight, and that there was too much_ blood _pouring out of the creaves in his suit. Superboy stared, shocked, for a moment, just before he saw Jaime's knees buck and his limp body go tumbling towards the ground.

"_**JAIME!**_"

**A/N: How was it? Be a dear and leave a review, please! I don't think I'll continue this story unless I get some feedback, just so I know that it's okay enough to go on, so yeah. I feel like I rushed it a bit...Sorry. And totally shameless Blue Beetle torture right there, lol. The BLUEPULSE will happen in the next chapter, and it'll be pretty heavy. I hope y'all enjoyed this. Now go click that review button!**

**~(._.)~**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Oh my gawd, people actually like my story so far. That's just...amazing. I can't even-Just wow. So, all of those who reviewed, thank you so, so much. Everytime I'd see a new review my heart kinda leaped for joy and then did an excited little dance. So, once again, thank you so so so much for reviewing. This chapter is going to have some Brotherly Wally, heavy Bluepulse, and light Birdflash. Well, you can only see the Birdlash if you ship them, because if not then all you see is friendship. Oh, and I swear there is a method to my madness! So far all you have read is poor Blue getting hurt for no reason, because it shouldn't hurt that he got put on Mode, right? Well, I have a reason for that, and it ties into the plot later. So, I talk too much. Sorry. Now on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.**

Bart sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair with his knees pulled tight against his chest, his arms hugging them close and holding on to his elbows, and his head rested on his knee caps. He stared blankly at the Latino teen who tossed and turned in the bed, his eyes clamped closed and small cries escaping his chapped lips though he was still asleep. One could obviously see the metal plates from the Scarab shifting under his tanned skin and it was disgusting to watch. Occasionally, Bart and whomever else was in the room at the time, could hear yet another bone snap under the Scarab's will and force out an unconscious plea from Jaime. Grayson had told Bart that, from what knowledge they gathered from their sources, the Scarab wasn't killing Jaime, but re-arranging him to what the Scarab saw fit. Of course the proccess would not be pleasant, but there wasn't much anyone could do to stop it.

Each time a doctor or another hero would try to cut Jaime open to fix him, or try to inject an anti-biotic or IV, the armor beneath the Mexican's skin would block it. All anyone could really do was lay the thrashing teen in a hospital bed and hope for the best. Nightwing had travelled to El Paso and explained to Jaime's family that he was in a sort of 'Witness Protection' program, and would be released as soon as they 'caught the villian'. They believed him without a doubt, he _was _a superhero, and didn't question any further, besides asking if Jaime was safe. Nightwing had smiled and said, "Of course, nothing will hurt him under our protection".

Oh, the irony.

For three _agonizing_ days Jaime had been asleep. And for those three days, Bart never left his side. The Team would try to trail him out with food, but he wouldn't budge. They had to forcefully shove the food into his mouth and tell him to chew. His teammates would try to negotiate with him with promises of "he'll be alright", but the speedster refused to abandon his friend. Some team members even tried to pick him up and drag him away but he would simply phase through them, never stopping his blank stare towards Jaime. He didn't ever leave the room. Beast Boy tried to lighten the mood once by jokingly asking "How have you not gone to the bathroom yet?" but Bart didn't acknowledge him. He didn't acknowledge anyone who spoke to him. He just stared at Jaime.

It was Barbara who suggested they call Wally, since the Garretts nor Barry were successful in moving Bart, no matter how hard they tried. Maybe the red-head would cause some sort of reaction out of him. Wally didn't want anything to do with their situation at first, but hearing about how _still _Impulse had been for_ three whole days_, he was a bit worried. So he begrudgingly stomped to a zeta-tube and went to his cousin's aid. When he reached the hospital, he wasn't surprised that everyone was in the waiting room. Though none of them knew Jaime very well, they were scared for his future. Most of them loved Bart, of course, so the fact that he was so broken over Jaime scared them too. Wally refused to look at his old teammates though, and walked straight to the room where his cousin sat.

The room was stark white, as most hospital rooms were, and the only colour was Jaime's skin and Bart's clothes. Said speedster sat with his knees pulled tight to his chest and his head resting on them. He didn't flinch, or show any sign that Wally had walked in, but just continued to gaze upon the unconscious Jaime. Wally pulled a nearby chair to sit it beside Bart, then slumped into the squeaky seat. He took a long moment to gather his thoughts, not sure with how to approach the situation, and took a deep breath. Wally used to be great with cheering people up, but after he got with Artemis, it seemed he lost that ability. So now, as he sat beside the depressed child, he had really regretted letting the archer mellow him out like that. Just as Wally opened his mouth to say something, though now that he thinks back, he really didn't have anything to say, a small voice interrupted.

"Have you ever had a best friend?"

The college student stiffened. Where was Bart going with this? Was he just asking random questions? Wally shook his head to clear his thoughts and took another deep breath.

"Yes."

It was true. Him and Dick...they had known eachother forever. They had known everything about the other and were rarely apart. The bestest of friends. Every nightmare Dick had, Wally would hold him, even as they got older. Every fight Wally got into with his father, Dick would comfort him. They always knew how to make the other laugh and it was only with Wally that Dick would actually snort. Wally smirked at the memory, but caught himself and straightened the grin back into a frown. It was different now. Dick was just an old stranger.

"In my future..." Bart glanced down to the floor briefly. "There was no such thing as 'best friends'. Not even 'friends'. We had allies, but you could never truly trust someone. Not in the conditions we lived in."

"Your point?" Wally hadn't meant to sound rude, but the subject was uncomfortable.

"_My point _is that I've never had a best friend until now." He squinted his green eyes, trying to keep his stupid tears in. "I've never been so close with a person...I've never trusted someone as much as I trust him."

"So this...is the first time you've been hurt like this." Wally finished, his face grim. "And you don't know how to deal with it."

Bart nodded solemnly. "Everytime he makes one of those _noises_ it just _hurts so much_."

Wally didn't know how to reply, and Bart seemed to sense it. So he carried on with his explanation.

"From the beggining, Jaime has been so nice to me. After we were kidnapped by the Reach when Mount Justice exploded, and I told him about he would..._will _become...He was still my friend. If anything, me revealing that to him brought us closer." He sighed, defeated. "Ever since then we've just...I don't know, bonded? I have spent every other weekend at his house, and all the other weekends he spends at mine, er, the Garretts'. As soon as he gets out of school, he calls me and tells me about his day and I just_ shut up and listen_. I never just _shut up and listen_. I always talk! But, he changed that."

The older speedster felt an unwanted feeling of Deja Vu, but didn't dare interrupt Bart.

"When I have a nightmare...He hugs me and tells me that everything is going to be okay and that he'll protect me...", He squeezes himself tighter and tries to pretend that it's Jaime holding him and not himself. "We watch cheesy Disney movies together all the time, because where I'm from we don't have televisions, and he's set on making me watch every single Disney movie ever made. Sometimes his sister comes in and watches for a bit, but she usually just leaves us alone."

Bart smiled. "And sometimes when he gets really excited or angry, he'll just switch to Spanish, and then when he sees that he did he gets all flustered and has this cute little blush on his face..."

The smile faltered.

"Just the thought of knowing that Jaime,_ my _Jaime, is dead and that a new, scary Jaime is going to be born...It just kills me."

"Bart..."

Wally transferred his gaze from Jaime to his cousin, just to see the smaller boy bury his face into his palms and let out a terrified sob. The older teen didn't know what made him do this, he wasn't all that close to Bart, but a deep-seeded instinct caused Wally to reach out and effortlessly pull him into his lap, cradling Bart like the child he was. He rocked back and forth slowly, much like he used to with Dick, and ran his fingers through the red mop of messy hair. Wally knew that Jaime wasn't dead or missing, but as he laid on the bed, whimpering and goraning, he was gone to Bart. And if he was on mode like they thought...He would be gone forever. He would be the monster that haunted Bart's dreams. He would be _dead_ to Bart.

"I can't say that I've been in your situation, but I've lost a...best friend too." He struggled as he spoke. "And I know exactly how much it hurts."

Bart's voice was muffled. "How did you lose him?"

"He-"

It wasn't Dick's fault. It had never been Dick's fault. Dick was the one fighting for Wally, yelling and screaming and fighting for him becaused they were_ just that close _and Wally was pushing him _just too far_. For those couple of weeks of transition, Wally had been fighting with Dick all of the time and he just got tired of it. So, in the end, he chose Artemis over his best friend. They had been in the middle of another screaming match when Wally had said it. And nothing has ever even come close to hurting him as much as the look on Dick's face did.

_"God damn it, Wally! How could you forget something like that?" Dick cried out, his face flushed with anger. "You know how important their anniversary is to me and you just completely blew me off! Why?"_

_ "I was with Artemis!" He yelped back, his fists clenching. "You know how important she is to me!"_

_ "Of course you were with her..." He mumbled, shaking his head before yelling again. "You're such an asshole! You couldn't cancel one date to help me?"_

_ "I thought the Batman didn't need help?"_

_ "I'm not him! Don't even fucking go there!"_

_ "Why not?" He stepped foward and poked the little bird in the chest. "You obviously want to fight, so I'm just picking it up a notch!"_

_ "I don't want to fight with you, Wally!" He slapped his freckled hand away and snarled. "I just want you to hang out with me a little more! But it's always about Artemis, right?"_

_ "Did you ever stop and think that maybe I like her more?"_

_ The blue eyed boy's eyes widened and his mouth resembled an 'O'. He faltered, taking a step back as if his _best friend_'s_ _words literally hit him. His dark eyebrows furrowed together in confusion and hurt because he just didn't understand. "What are you saying?"_

_ "That maybe..." Wally turned away from him as he spoke his next words, forcing them out and nearly choking on them. "That maybe I don't want to be your best friend anymore, Dick."_

"I messed up." He finally whispered, his hold on Bart tightening. "I was angry and I messed up and I can't ever fix it."

"But...He's still alive."

"No." He turned his head away, too ashamed to look Bart in the eyes. "What I said...I killed the old him, _my_ him. He's a new him now. And this new him wants nothing to do with me."

They both stayed silent and still, unlike everything a speedster should be. But then again, nothing was as it should be.

**A/N: So this chapter focused on the recoil from what happened last chapter, so it's really kind of a filler. It was really rushed, wasn't it? I felt like it was but I really tried to make it all feelings and stuff so...Ugh, I failed. As for the Birdflash, I was just going to have a couple mentions and stuff but it morphed itself into this. Oops. Like I said earlier, I swear I have a plot and it isn't just me being mean to Blue and Impulse. I actually have this awesome, elaborate plot that is going to rock your socks off. And did everyone get why Jaime was hurting last chapter? The Scarab is re-arranging his insides to 'perfection' because you know the Reach is. Everything has to be perfect. Please be nice and leave a review! I'm still iffy on continuing this because it kinda sucks so...yeah. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Soooo, my birthday is on Friday, February 8. And like...*shuffles awkwardly* I think somebody writing a fic for me would be great. Nothing too long or anything, I just want something written about my favorite couple in honor of my fifteenth birthday, ya know? Besides, I could read it and disect it and learn from more experienced writers. Please? Anywho, this chapter is where some shit starts going down...All leading up to the pure "holy shit"-ness that is in the next chapter. Be prepared, my loves.**

**Oh, and for ****"jessica499499****"'s review for the second chapter...Your first sentence made me happy. The stuff you wrote in paranthesis, oh my gawd. Please, write me a story like that. I don't think it's been done for this shipping yet and it would be the best birthday present ever. Seriously. You are a freaking genius.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.**

"I can't." She shook her head, turning on heel to walk away. "Not again, I can't do this."

"M'gaan,_ please_. Your uncle isn't here and you're the only person we trust to do this. Look, I know that the thing with Kaldur was difficult but..." Dick placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her from leaving. "You've seen him. We can't just stand by and watch him betray his race."

Miss Martian glared hard at the floor, the gears in her head turning. She couldn't do it. She would just make everything worse than it already was. She would break him the way she broke Aqualad and it would ruin everything. And this...situation was completely different from with Kaldur's. At least with him she knew what she had to do. She went into his mind knowing that she had to repair what she broke. But with Jaime, she had no clue. Who was to say that she could do anything to help anyways? She would probably have no effect on what the Scarab was doing to Jaime. She shook her head again, this time faster, and shoved Nightwing's arm away.

"No."

"And if it was Gar?"

She halted her stomping towards the zeta-tube, her eyes wide and her breath caught in her throat. Everyone in the room was watching intently now, Beast Boy too since the mention of his name, and the numerous pairs of eyes on the arguing duo filled the temporary base with tension. He didn't really just play that card, did he? Was he really that desperate? Hot, flaming anger boiled inside the White Martian as she slowly pivoted to face the masked vigalante in his covered eyes.

"That is _completely_ different."

"No, it isn't." He replied as he crossed his arms. "Him and Jaime are both young and-"

She stepped foward, almost ramming into Nightwing with how close she got. "But Garfield doesn't have a homicidal bug attached to his spine!"

"I don't see why this is such a problem-"

"What if I go in there and I can't come back out?" M'gaan pressed her small hands against her old teammate's chest and pushed him, though he barely moved. "What if I get stuck? What if I screw him up even more? I can't control my powers, Nightwing! I just might make it worse! I might not even help, anyways. We have no idea what's going on!"

"That's alot of what if's-"

She shoved him again, this time harder. He stumbled back a bit, but stood his ground. "What is wrong with you? I'm scared to do it and you're still trying to pressure me?"

"He's scared too! Terrified and tortured-!"

"I can't!" She went to push him again, but his huge, calloused hands wrapped around her thin wrists and held them in place.

"Don't. Interrupt. Me. Again." He threw her hands to her sides. "You are being selfish by not helping him, M'gaan. We're _heroes_. It's our job to help those who need it."

"Why are you so focused on helping him right now, anyways?" Miss Martian rubbed where her old friend had grabbed her, surprised that he had actually managed to hurt her. "Shouldn't you be so busy stopping the invasion to pay attention to the rest of us?"

_Not this bullshit again..._Dick glared at the Martian's freckled face. She was purposely avoiding his gaze now, the anger that was in her just moments before seemed to have dissappeared, and now she was that shy, awkward girl that had joined the Team years ago. _That_ girl would have done everything in her power to help Blue Beetle. _This _girl...she was different. Colder. Secretive. Dick didn't like it, but he couldn't exactly blame her. Everyone from the original six had undergone changes, some way more than others. But they all had one trait that had been there since the very beginning. All of them, every single one of his 'friends', were sure that Dick Grayson would become a cold, heartless creature known as the Batman. That trait had ruined his relationship with Zatanna, lost him a brother, made Aqualad go to Black Manta, broke Connor's trust in him, made M'gaan angry at him, distanced Artemis, and murdered the bond with his best friend.

What the green girl infront of him didn't understand was that he noticed how close he had become to being like his 'father'. He didn't want that. To be the Batman. Yes, he was extremely busy trying to stop the apocolypse, but he did take the time to stop and do something else. Do something that kept him_ sane _and _human_. It just so happened that one of his favorite things to do that kept him sane was watching how Bart Allen and Jaime Reyes interracted. Not stalking, merely observing.

They were obviously best friends and were practically attached at the hip. There were many times when Dick would notice that one of them would get up to quickly go do something, and the other would unconsciously follow, hovering around their best friend until they were done, and then return to what they were doing. It was intresting. They would laugh hard at something the other said, maybe an inside joke, and they would hang on to eachother until they caught their breaths. They would cuddle, _He's just keeping me warm!_, on frosty nights and Bart would make hot chocolate like Iris taught him. When Jaime would do his homework in the base, Bart would actually sit still and wait patiently until the Latino was finished. Everywhere Jaime went, Bart would follow like a lost puppy. Anywhere Bart went, Jaime would be clearing the way for him to go through.

Dick was going to fight hard to make sure Jaime was okay, just so he could go back to being Bart's other half. Because if it had been_ his _best friend in that situation, he would have wanted somebody to do the same.

"We need him on our side if we want to win this war." He stated. "And I'll be damned if we lose him because you are too afraid to cooperate."

_Liar._

_**Are you-?!**_

_In your head? Yes._

Nightwing stared at M'gaan with wide, fearful eyes. She had heard everything.

"Fine." She rolled her eyes, but anyone could see that it wasn't geniune. "I'll do it."

**A/N: I did not mean for M'gaan to be a bitch at the beginning, but I was trying to show how much the whole thing with Aqualad scared her. The next chapter though...Holy crap. As I was writing it I was just...I don't know, afraid of how evil I was being? Seriously, shit gets real. Soooooo, leave a review! I really need feedback to keep me going and being 'praised' kinda makes my day. Again, please please please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: SO, I realized that I've been spelling M'gann wrong. Oops. But, oh gawd. Oh my gawd. This chapter took me four days to write and it isn't even all that great. But oh well. Still, oh meh gawd. Some serious shit hits the fan. I was reading it again and I was actually kind of proud. Not really proud of the whole thing, just the beginning and end. It's pretty legit. I was watching Batman: Under the Red Hood while writing a portion of this sooooo beware of my feels. Oh, and let me give y'all a warning, just because I love you all:**

**For the next three chapters...One of the characters might not make it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.**

___Man kind has always fought back. Man kind doesn't care how broken it is, doesn't care how deep into the rotted Earth they are buried into, and doesn't care how much the odds are against them. They fight back, and they fight back with a passion. Man kind stands tall in the black nothing behind them and pushes foward, because it is in their DNA. They stand as brothers, as a wall, and beat every obstacle that crosses their path. As one, they are unstoppable._

_ But every unstoppable force will eventually face another unstoppable force at one point in time. Who is the unstoppable force that will crash into man kind? Why, the Reach of course. The Reach has lost to no one. The Reach will lose to no one. The Reach is unstoppable._

_ But man kind is different. There is a weakness that has plagued it in the last several, spoiled generations. This weakness will be their downfall. This weakness will completely break down the wall and set fire to the flesh behind it. And when all of the scared little people are running and screaming in pure agony, the Reach will swoop in and deliver the final blow. The Reach will stop the unstoppable force. Man kind will fall to the Reach. And believe me, Jaime Reyes._

_**Man kind **_**will **_**fall.**_

__"I wonder if he dreams?"

Connor glanced up at the short red-head who sat on the other side of the bed, playing with his Latino friend's hand. Connor was currently running his fingers through said Latino's locks of night black hair in attempt to calm the twitches and jerks of the teen's body. He had stopped yelling and moving so much, but he still whimpered and trembled. Connor sat in a chair with his back to the door and Bart on the other side of Jaime's bed. Miss Martian was due to be there soon to preform...whatever she could. Her and Nightwing were still unsure of what to do once the Martian was in Jaime's mind, but they would do all they could.

Connor looked back down at Jaime's face for a quick moment and noticed the ways his eyebrows knit together, and then relaxed, just to repeat the process a second later. He watched his mouth open and close like a fish, watched his eyes flutter about behind the closed lids, and watched his nostrils flare. Jaime might not have been dreaming, per se, but he was certainly seeing _something _in his 'coma' like sleep. Connor switched his gaze back to Bart's green eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, I think he does."

The ginger seemed satisfied with his answer and traced the rising viens on the back of Jaime's hand. "I wonder what about?"

"The future, war, all of the people he will kill..." Connor had only been speaking from logic, but Bart's terrified stare changed his truth to lie. "But propbably of us. All of us. I'm sure he's missing his friends."

The speedster nodded quickly, reassuring himself. "He probably is. Yeah, I bet he's just dieing to play this new game I got him. I thought like, when he wakes up, we could go have a gaming sleepover like usual to get things back to normal. Actually, no. We'll probably play tag. It's super fun because in El Paso there's like, a lot of deserts and plenty of running and flying room so we like to play it there. Sometimes, when I'm too fast for him, he'll just throw himself at me, and like we fall and wrestle and stuff, but I usually still win. I think he lets me win, though..."

"When he wakes up..." Connor added. "I'm taking him first."

Bart was taken aback. "Wha-what?"

"When he wakes up, I get his time first." The clone repeated.

"But he's_ my _best friend!"

"He's _my_ brother."

Ice blue eyes bore into emerald green, and for a breif second, Bart swore he could see the pain behind the mask that Superboy wore. He was actually worried for Jaime, which should have been obvious by the way he pet his hair but Bart wasn't always smart, so he would want the boy first. The speedster huffed and tore his gaze from the clone's. "Fine, you get him first."

He smirked. "Of course I do."

The creak of the door behind Connor caused him to whip around, almost knocking his chair over. He was relieved to see that it was just Nightwing, who was not a threat, that entered the room. The Team's leader gave him a curt nod as a greeting and made his way to the ginger holding Jaime's arm and giving him a curious stare. Dick knelt down to the shorter boy's level and placed a comforting hand on his tense shoulder, and gave it a squeeze. M'gann entered the room moments later with a somber expression painted across her features, and a tired posture, and Bart immediately understood why they were there

"Right now?" Connor questioned when Bart gave him a knowing nod.

"Better sooner than later." Miss Martian replied with a sigh. "I want to get this over with."

The clone growled low in his throat. "Sorry it's such an inconvienence for you."

"Connor, that's not what I meant-"

"Let's not do that right now, okay?" Nightwing intervened, still grabbing on to Bart's tiny shoulder. "We have a mission to do."

A pause.

"Are you sure you're ready to do this, Bart?" Dick searched for any sign of hesitence in his green orbs. "This is a very big responsibility-"

"I want to be the first person he sees." The freckle-faced boy nodded, determination radiating off of him in waves. "That way he isn't scared."

Nightwing smiled. "You're very brave for doing this. I'm sure Jaime will appreciate it."

"Ready?"

They both turned to face M'gann, who had pulled a chair to the foot of the hospital bed and stared at them patiently. Nightwing nodded again and gave a final glance at Bart. "Yeah, he's ready."

"Great." Her orange eyes were enveloped by a bright green glow. "Prepare yourself, Bart. His mind will be nothing like his surface."

And she was right.

Bart felt a sharp pressure in his brain, and his body felt light, as if he was flying. A giant weight had been taken off his chest when M'gann dragged his mind out of his body, and thrusted them both into Jaime's. Thousands of colours flashed before his eyes, some he had never even seen before, and a slight buzzing filled his ears. He could feel it, when him and M'gann finally became objects in Jaime's broken head. It was an uncomfortable feeling at first, forcing yourself into the darkest corners of a person's private mind, but it soon faded into that same light, weightless feeling Bart had felt before. It kind of made him happy.

Until he took in their surroundings.

Miss Martian stood next to him with a horrified expression, which the same face must have been splayed on his too, because the disaster-filled warzone around them was too much. What should have been the sky was pitch black and filled with smoke, much darker than even what Bart was used to. The terrain around them was dark, mushy earth that rode into hills that smelled of decay and burnt flesh. Fires cackled in scattered areas that used to be buildings, and didn't falter even though heavy, dark green rain poured from the sky. Ash and litter seemed to fall with the storm and were thrown in different directions by the strong wind. But none of that really affected the heroes. What really dug under their skin was the_ bodies_.

Thousands upon thousands of mutated bodies were covering any landmarks M'gann and Bart could see, and some of them were moving. Not walking, the damage done to them was too severe for them to walk, but crawling. Desperately clawing the dead earth beneath them and rolling over their fallen brothers. Skin was missing in large chunks on many of their faces and jaws were hanging loosely, limbs were bent into unnatural positions, and eyes were missing, but they still moved on. Screams and wails roared over any other noise, and cries for mercy were lost in the yells. It was Bart who noticed that some of them spoke though. Not really talking, but forming words in the middle of their exclaimations.

"Jaime...why would you do this to us?...You betrayed us!"

"You are a monster!"

"Look at what you've done!"

Bart whimpered and covered his ears with his palms. His best friend was torturing himself with these images. And it was all because he told him about his future. This was his fault. All of this was Bart's fault and he was too frozen with his own fears to stop the nightmare round him. M'gann took Bart's hands in her slightly larger ones and forced him to look her in the eye.

"Bart...We need to find Jaime."

He nodded slowly, biting his lip. Jaime needed his help. He needed to save Jaime. Everything would be better once he was with Jaime. Bart's motivation returned to him and he tightened his hold on M'gann's hands, and nodded firmly. "We'll find Jaime."

She gave him a soft smile and dropped one of his hands, but held the other one, and began to shuffle past the countless bodies. He followed loyally behind her, being careful to step over the bodies and not on them. The two teammates didn't travel very far until Bart tripped, too many bodies, and began to fall. He had let go of M'gann, as to not bring her down with him, but she had caught on the back of his shirt and stopped him from landing flat on his face and on top of a dieing person. She tugged the back of his shirt until he rose to his feet and dropped her hold. Bart let out a breathless chuckle and shook his head. He turned to thank her for saving him, damn him for being so stupidly clumsy, but was met with a different sight. He should have known it wasn't her...

"Hello, _**meat**_."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry about Chapter 4 not updating correctly! The internet was crazy here because of the storm. Anywho, thank you all so much for reviewing and reading and following and all that jazz. I can't believe how many people are actually enjoying this. Seriously, I feel special now. Well, I know it hasn't really been all that romantic and stuff between Blue Beetle and Impulse...But it will be. Unless I decide to kill one of them off *COUGH COUGH*. So, y'all have waited long enough. And OH MAH GAWD that last episode was just...Feels. Just, so many feels at the end. I had this huge gasp/heart/spazz attack when Jaime pimp-slapped the back of Bart's head with that damn key thing. He was acting so normal too and then it was just BAM! Broke my heart. Soooooo, yeah. Here's Chapter 5!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.**

He sat with his bottom on the blood soaked earth, his knees close to his head, and his hands buried in his messy hair. He rocked frantically back and forth, pulling slightly at his black locks just to feel something other than fear, and mumbled incoherent, jumbled sentences in an attempt to calm himself. It didn't work, but he still tried. It was the only thing he could do in the dark prison of his own twisted mind. He didn't want to be there. He didn't want to be trapped with the thousands upon thousands of people he would murder. He didn't want to die alone. That was certainly his biggest fear, to die by himself.

_**You are not alone, Jaime Reyes.**_

"They don't count." The Latino tilted his head in the direction of the zombie-like creatures that crawled aimlessly in piles.

_**I did not refer to the decaying remains of the humans.**_

Jaime flinched at the AI's word choice, but didn't reply. He scrubbed at his still watering eyes before returning his grimy hands back to tugging his hair. He chose not ask the Scarab to clarify, too afraid that he'd go into too much detail again, and tilted foward to rest his sweaty forhead against his knees. He could hear Khajii Dah sigh.

_**You have me.**_

Jaime froze, not in shock of what Khajii Dah said, but because he actually said it. They had developed a sort of bond during their time stuck in Jaime's head until Mode was completed downloading, and over the few days they had been together, Khajii Dah seemed to grow friendlier. He would still make snarky remarks, but they were no longer pointed at Jaime. An unspoken connection had passed through them, but that was it. It was unspoken, never spoken of, never said with words. Khajii Dah had just-

_**We have an intruder!**_

"An intruder? How?" The teen shrieked, jumping to his feet in a flash. "We're in my head!"

_**A Martian.**_

His chocolate eyes widened. It couldn't have been Green Beetle, could it? Hot, boiling anger rushed through Jaime in waves as his fists clenched and unclenched. That bastard ruined everything! He had just began to become friends with people on the Team and at school, his grades had rose, Wolf stopped barking at him when he walked by, and Bart...Bart was just Bart, but he made everything better. But then Green fucking Beetle swooped in a promised him that everything could be even better, that his nightmares about the future would stop, that he wouldn't be so afraid of hurting those he loved, and that he would never be alone. So he let him practically mind rape the Scarab and now he was dealing with the consequences of trustung him. Jaime had actually believed he had been fixed but in reality, he was dumb enough to put himself in danger. All because he trusted that damn Martian. A snarl ripped through the Mexican's lips at the thought of that same asshole being back in his mind.

"Where is he? I'll beat the shit out of him with my bare hands!"

_**No need for aggresion, Jaime Reyes. It is a White Martian, a different species from the Green Martians. It is South of our direction...I am reading another heartbeat.**_

He started a slow jog towards where Khajii Dah had said, being cautious to avoid the gazes of the dying around him. "Really? What species is it?"

_**Humanoid. But the heartbeat is irregularly fast. Most possibly from a meta-gene.**_

"What type of meta-gene makes your heart beat faster?" Jaime mocked. "Hey, what's your super power? Oh, I can make my heart beat really fast, wanna see?"

The Scarab snorted. _**Your sense of humor is apalling. I have deducted the the second heartbeat is that of a speedster.**_

The Latino tripped over his own shoes. His face hit the ground hard, his nose sinking into the mud, and the dirt splashing into his wide eyes. He pushed his flailing body off of the floor and coughed to spit out the small pieces of earth, then roughly wiped his face with the back of his calloused hand.

It had to be Bart. The ginger would surely do everything in his power to rescue him, just because he was a caring person like that. Bart had come to save him. Bart was _here_. Bart was here. Bart was actually here. Bart was with a Martian, inside of his mind,_ here_, to save him. Bart freaking Allen was _here_. For Jaime. Bart Allen wanted to save Jaime Reyes. Jaime Reyes, who thought he'd never see Bart Allen alive again. Bart was_ here _to save Jaime, and Jaime wanted to see Bart. Bart. Was. _Here_.

Said speedster would have been proud of how fast the Latino's legs carried him towards the rapidly beating heart. Everything, the bodies of the dying, the pillars of night-black smoke, the constantly raging fires, everything was a blur to him. Barely noticable. Nothing important. It didn't matter to Jaime that his feet repeatedly rammed into the dead, it did not cross his mind that thick fog blocked his vision and choked him of the air he was so desperately gasping for, all he wanted was Bart. Bart who was _here_.

What if he was only there to finish Jaime off, before the Reach could fully take control?

Jaime didn't care. As long as he could see the excited ginger he would die happy. He would gladly die by the shorter boy's soft hands. He wouldn't mind the pain at all. He would just look into those expressive green eyes of his and melt into his arms, and just die. A terrified shriek peirced through the air then, ripping into the Mexican teen's already fragile heart and tearing it from the inside out. He recognized the sweet voice immediately, having heard the voice in his imaginatiion constantly for the last three days, and couldn't help but let his own yell of surprise slip. He charged faster towards the sound, urging his body to go even faster, until the boy in distress came into his line of sight.

He knelt in the mushy earth, his beautiful green eyes wide in fear and anxiety. He was in uniform, and his goggles were pushed messily into his red-brown hair, but he didn't look very heroic at all. He was shaking violently and whimpering, with his arms held up to hide his face from his attacker, and his knees digging into the mud. Miss Martian was laying dazed on the ground behind him and completely unaware of the nightmare that had come to life infront of Impulse.

Infront of the small boy stood a large, muscular creature, with armor of blue and black design and eyes that stared right into his soul. His mouth was forever upturned into a condescending smirk, and it angered Jaime that it was giving Bart that look. That it was scaring Bart that much. That Bart wasn't even fighting back.

Jaime was infront of Bart in a second, facing down the beast infront of him with vigor. His chest puffed, his arms flexed, and his nostrils flared. He glared hard at the future beetle, his eyes squinting and his eyebrows furrowing, and growled deep in his throat. The monster was obviously surprised, but quickly regained his sureness.

"Oh, I see you want my toy-"

"Mine."

Jaime stepped foward, his dirt-covered nose almost touching the beetle's chest.

"He. Is. _Mine_."

The future Blue stepped foward in return, attempting to use his height to intimidate the Mexican, and glowered down at him. "He is the property of the Reach-"

"The Reach doesn't control what happens here." He replied evenly.

"Is that so?" He laughed menacingly. "Look around you, Jaime Reyes. This-"

"The Reach does not control me!"

Jaime slammed himself into the larger version of his chest and toppled them both onto the ground, but his opponent splattered into ribbons of rough smoke and layers of dust, and Jaime hurdled towards the now empty space and onto the dirt. The future Blue Beetle had just...dissappeared. Into smoke and dust. He was just...gone.

Bart, who had stayed silent throughout the whole confrontation, darted to his friend's side and dropped to his level. "Blue! What the- Are you okay?"

"Bart..."

"I'm right here, buddy." He placed his tiny hand on his back nodded reassuringly. "I'm right here."

And he always would be. Jaime would make sure of it. He would never let anything happen to the ginger he was so fond of because he didn't think he could live with himself if something did. So he didn't push down the urge when it hit him because Bart's lips were just so close to his own. He didn't try to deny his feelings when it slapped him in the heart. He just followed his instincts that would claim Bart as his and allow him to protect the small boy.

Jaime grabbed the sides of his face and slammed his lips onto Bart's.

** A/N: AND THERE YOU GO. About damn time I made them kiss. -.- Woot woot. So, I will update every two days! There are about seven more chapters (MAYBE) but I still need y'alls reviews for motivation. Some, er, depressing stuff has been happening lately and your reviews make me want to write, which makes me happy. Yeah, so please review! Next chapter, somebod dies...just saying.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Oh...Oh jeeze I'm a terrible person. I am so incerdibaly sorry about what happens in this chapter. Seriously. It's so wrong of me to do this. My heart just...ARGH. It hurts because of this. Damn it. He's such an amazing character and I just...Gawd. He's just like 'Hey, guys. Ima just pop in and save the day' and then HE FUCKING DIED. What is wrong with me ;-; Oh, and as for the last chapter having alot of cuss words, Jaime is a teenager. Teenagers cuss alot. I don't care how good of a person you are, when you get into/are/were in your teens you say a mouthful.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.**

His lips were chapped, but so soft at the same time, and warm and moving against his own wanting mouth because they were_ kissing_. _Jaime_ was_ kissing _him. Bart Allen. And it felt amazing. Wonderful. Explosive. Bart had no words that could describe how great Jaime's lips on his felt. It felt like the world, or whatever one would call it, around them stopped spinning so Bart could live in that moment forever. But at the same time it felt all too short. After what was ten seconds in reality but a lifetime in Bart's mind Jaime broke the kiss.

Jaime. The sweet, caring, sarcastic, playful, tender Mexican that Bart had come to know as his best friend, had feelings for him. Romantic feelings. He liked Bart. The ginger had never had somebody like him before. Sure, in the future he snagged a couple kisses but it wasn't because they liked eachother. It was out of desperation, not wanting to die alone, not being loved.

What if Jaime had done that? Kissed him out of desperation? Just a weird way of showing relief that someone was trying to save him? Maybe it was better that it was a desperation kiss. Even though Bart tried, he still couldn't look at Jaime without knowing that it was him who punished him in the future. Sometimes he could forget, for a small fraction of a second when Jaime would do something childish that made him laugh so hard he snorted, that he was looking at a monster. But he could never truly forget, could he? Years of torture and pain and losing loved ones and constant yells of 'meat' could never be erased from his mind.

But that wasn't Jaime. Jaime would never hit him. Jaime would never hurt him. No, Jaime was too kind. And that was why Bart was there, to stop the Reach from turning Jaime into that thing. That terrible, awful thing that did hurt Bart.

But, if by the small chance that Jaime did like Bart, did Bart like him back?

Yes, yes he did. Alot. Too much. But who could really resist him? He was so considerate of those around him, so caring and loving and gentleman like, that anybody would fall for how sweet he was. Jaime loved his family and it was obvious, so there was no doubt that once he found a suitable mate that they would be treated with the same love and respect. He was funny, hilarious actually once Bart got him out of his shy shell, and it brought him joy to make people laugh and smile. That was another thing Bart liked, how shy Jaime got. Sometimes the Latino would act cocky and straightfoward, but most of the time he was a bashful, scared boy. He blushed alot and constantly tried to hide his face so no one would see the red on his cheeks. He was so smart too, he had average grades in all of his classes but he knew everything about anything. It could have been the Scarab, but Bart was sure it was Jaime. But most importantly, the Mexican was patient. Bart would sometimes get frustrated or confused or just have no idea what the hell was happening, and Jaime would slowly explain everything to him or calm him down. It was a great quality to have when dealing with someone as hyper as Bart.

It wasn't just his personality that drew Bart in. It was those beautiful, expressive brown eyes. Everything that Jaime felt could be shown through his chocoalte coloured orbs. His soft cocoa skin fit his slightly muscular build perfectly and Bart could never get over how warm the Latino was. Every hug they ever shared made Bart feel like he was hugging a heater wrapped in a soft blanket. A very attractive soft blanket.

All of these thoughts raced through Bart's mind in the few moments it took Jaime to pull away. Jaime's eyes widened in surprise, realizing what he did, and he spluttered, pushing himself away from the ginger. "_Ay_, Bart! I am so sorry,_ mi amigo_! I don't even know- Why would I do that when I know you're- You're probably going to hate me forever! I am so sorry-"

"Dude. Just shut up." With that, Bart clutched the back of the taller boy's head and pulled him in for another kiss.

The kiss was long and passionate, and once again both boy's felt as if the world stopped and changed around them. Well, it_ did_.

The rain that was a green, sloppy syrup just moments before thinned and turned clear, and felt pure. It was real rain. The falling water seemed to wash away all of the terror and death around them, rolling up in large waves and carrying the bodies of the fallen somewhere else. The fires were smothered by the cleansing rain and the thick, choking smoke disappeared into much whiter mist. The sky cleared of its dark clouds and was replaced by a crystal blue sky and fluffy, cotton candy clouds. All the while, Miss Martian stood beside the kissing couple, watching the new world unfold infront of her.

They were at Happy Harbor's beach. Soft sand playing beneath their toes, lucious green grass and growing plants bordering the back, and blue, salty waves rolling calmly up and down the shore. Jaime and Bart pulled away from eachother, deep flushes on both of their faces, and it took them a moment to realize where they were. Nobody else was on the beach besides the four of them, and it made Jaime wonder-

Wait...Four?

Bart was beside him, staring fearfully at their new member. M'gann was studying the creature with a fascinated gaze, and all it took was for the hollow shell of Blue Beetle's armor to speak for Jaime to know who it was. "_**Jaime Reyes**_..?"

"Khajii Dah!"

Jaime dropped Bart's hand that he didn't even know he was holding to charge at the AI, trapping the unsuspecting Scarab in a tight imbrace, spinning him around in the air before place him back on his feet. It was slightly uncomfortable hugging him, seeing as it was Blue Beetle's armor, just the Scarab's voice. "Khajii Dah, you're...you're solid!"

"_**This form is merely a construct created by the homeostasis setting in your mind, Jaime Reyes. There is reason behind my appearence**_." The Scarab detached the Latino's hands from him.

"What do you mean? What is your...reason for appearing?" Damn him and his awkward wording.

"_**There is a way for you to escape the Mode**_."

Jaime choked on the words he couldn't say and froze. He could practically feel Bart and M'gann do the same behind him. He stepped foward, raising an eyebrow, and searched the emotionless husk of his armor for any sign of a lie. "R-really?"

"_**Yes. And I can show you**_-"

A large, black, metal staple peirced through the head of Khajii Dah's armor, causing sparks and chunks of blue armor to spray out in all directions. Jaime reached out to catch the falling body as it tumbled towards the sand. The armor began to jerk violently, Khajii Dah's electronic voice breaking and contorting as his temporary body reacted to the staple in his head. "Khajii Dah!" Jaime shrieked, unsure of what to do.

Miss Martian rose to the air, hovering just above Impulse to search for their attacker. More black metal staples shot at the small group from all directions and it was difficult for the Martian to pinpoint where they were coming from. The lethal staples were joined by several blue sonic blasts, a few just barely missing the heroes. Bart raced to Jaime, who was still clutching Khajii Dah desperately, and grabbed his shoulder. "Blue, we need to leave now."

"No, no, no." He shook his head. "We can't leave him."

"He's dying, Jaime! Just leave him or else we'll die too!" M'gann used her telekenesis to stop a staple from stabbing the Latino in the face.

Just then, the husk of armor that was Khajii Dah wrapped his hand around Jaime's forearm, staring into his eyes with a fiery passion. It seemed like thousands of staples and sonic blasts rained down from every direction, and it took all of the Martian's will power to block of the attacks. "Blue! We need to go!"

"_**Jaime Reyes**_." Khajii Dah's features set into that of determination, staring hard into his host's fear filled eyes. "_**Protect the Impulse. He is your only chance for escape.**_"

The armor that held him crawled up his arm, trailing onto the Mexican teen's skin. Metal plates of blue and black shuffled over his entire arm and traveled further, pouring down his side and grabbing onto every inch of skin it could find. The more that the armor covered Jaime, the more Khajii Dah disappeared. He was giving Jaime his form, their armor, because he wasn't going to be there much longer, because whatever sick bastard shot the AI in the face knew that once you were a solid construct in a mind, you were able to be killed. Not physically, but mentally. And that was all Khajii Dah was. A mental creature designed to help the Scarab's host.

Jaime hugged what was left of Khajii Dah tightly to his chest as the few last plates of their, _his_, armor rolled over his skin. "_Gracias, mi amigo_."

"_**Te nada**_."

And he was gone.

Miss Martian could feel the life fade from existence, feel the heartbreak from Jaime. She was entirely concentrated on blocking all of the attacks, but it was hard to ignore the Scarab's death. He was dead, gone, never to be returned. Just completely and utterly dead.

Jaime, Blue Beetle, glared at the disrupted sand where his friend had been moments before. Khajii Dah had his problems, different viewpoints, but he was still a good person. Behind every bad decision was a good intention. Khajii Dah wanted to help. Khajii Dah didn't deserve to be killed, murdered, taken from Jaime. He was a good _person_.

Whoever had ripped the AI from Blue Beetle would have hell to pay, Jaime would make sure of it. So he rose to his feet, with salty tears falling from his eyes behind the armor, and began to stalk towards where he felt the most attacks were coming from. Impulse raced to his side and wrapped his thin arms around him, attempting to pull him back to the safety of Miss Martian's protective bubble. "Blue! Stop, okay, we need to leave! We need to go and run away because if not we'll be killed! Or worse, captured! Please, just stop-"

The angry teen whipped around to face the shorter boy. "This is _my_ mind. That was _my_ friend. They, whoever these assholes are, can't get away with this."

"Jaime, please..."

"Shh." He placed a chaste kiss onto the speedsters pleading lips. "Stay safe. I'll come back for you."

With one last glance into his favorite green eyes, Blue Beetle charged into the light sky, going in the direction of the attackers. His rage was getting the better of him, blinding him. He couldn't, wouldn't, let the pain and suffering of his friends be in vain. He would destroy the person who did this without hesitation.

Little did he know that his rage would cause the fall of man.

**A/N: Nooooo Khajii Dah! My sweet little homicidal bug... I'm sorry. He was actually starting to be nice and I killed him. Argh, my feels. So anywho, please review! I need some feedback on if I'm doing good or not and what direction the readers think that this story should take. I already have it planned out, but knowing what the readers want could improve it, right? So, please please please review and let me know that there's actually people reading. Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Holy shit. Nightwing and Miss Martian had a moment, the Runaways were actually okay, Roy finally found something useful to do (I love him, but sometimes he makes me upset), but there was NO REACTION FROM BART. I hope they focus on that next episode because seriously, his best friend just went on Mode. The very thing he came back to stop happened. Yupp. Just feels everywhere. This chapter is pretty short, so sorry. I would have updated waayyyyy sooner but my charger died for my laptop. Sorry again.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.**

He clutched his side desperately, his palm the only thing keeping his indsides from pouring out. The entire left side of his face sizzled and blistered from the blast it had taken, and his black hair had been torn off with the layers of skin and armor. He was drenched in thick, dark crimson blood, but he was proud to say that not all of it was his. Though he did suffer from several heavy gashes and many broken bones, his attacker was in the same fateful state.

Heavy panting and terrified gasps for oxygen fell under the clashing of armor and whirs of weapons, and yet another wound was recieved by the already crippled Jaime. "Big Bad Blue"'s sharpened sword pierced through the Mexican's shoulder, crashing through bone and tearing the tendons. Jaime cried out, but used their close proximity to his advantage. He drove his fist into his future self's gut and transformed it into a plasma cannon, then watched the surprise and horror splash across his enemy's soul-less face as the beam shot directly through him. In response Jaime was tossed effortlessly to the side, falling onto a patch of black sand, as his opponent screeched.

The dazed Mexican teen hissed at the sand that snuck into his open gashes, and tried to rise to his elbows, but fell back into the sand. He rolled onto his back and attempted to use his back strength to get up, but once again he smashed into the ground. He groaned and sucked in a quick inhale, ignored his body screaming in protest, and jumped to his sore feet. Jaime turned on heel and pointed his plasma cannon at his future self, who was on his knees, clawing at the liquid gushing out from the huge hole in his stomach. Here, here he would end it. He would stop the Mode. He would stop himself.

He took long strides to the large creature on his knees and pointed his ready weapon to the thing's forehead, watching in twisted joy when it contracted in fear. "No, no..."

"Yes." His face lit up into a dark grin. "_Yes_."

Jaime pushed the tip of the cannon against his future self's forehead until the armor whined from the pressure, watched the plasma charge glow blindingly bright, and prepared to fire. A sudden pressure shot up into his temple, causing the teen to stagger back for a moment, his fingers darting to hold his head. It ceased as quickly as it came, so he shook his head to clear it and faced his attacker again. Instead of Big Bad Blue at the end of the cannon, it was a shaking, terrified little boy with ginger red hair and huge, watery green eyes. The boy, no more than twelve, was grabbing desperately at his stomach, trying to hold in the waterfalling blood slipping through his trembling fingers.

The boy coughed and stared up at Jaime through long, thick eyelashes and reached out a hand, as if calling for help. "Jaime..."

The shocked teen lowered his plasma cannon and stared hard at the image he was seeing. It couldn't be...Bart was with Miss Martian. Jaime was fighting future Blue Beetle. How did Bart get there? Where was the monster? Jaime glanced from the boy's face down to his beckoning hand, then back to his hurt face. "Jaime, help me..."

Then it hit him.

He was_ happy _that Big Bad Blue had been_ scared _of him, he was taking_ joy _in _beating _him, he had been _excited_ to_ kill _him. Jaime had left Bart and M'gann alone in his crumbling mind because he was angry. He didn't have to chase down one of the Beetles. He didn't have to fight him. But he did because he wanted to. He went looking for the battle. Heroes didn't do that. Heroes didn't abondon their friends to get revenge. But than again, when had Jaime ever been a hero? He was selfish and rude and arrogant and such an asshole to his friends, he shouldn't be called a hero. Citizens didn't even know he existed. So why would he be classified as a hero? Why should he keep trying to be one? He never was, and never would be a hero. He was destined to be a confused boy in an alien suit.

Heroes never won. The previous Blue Beetle proved it. Yeah, he did save the Earth, but where was he now? Oh, right. He was _dead_. Because Heroes. Never. Won. At least, not fully. There was always a consequence, a downside, a sacrifice to be made. Hell, Jaime knew that most of the members of Team that he had become friends with would die too soon, just like Jason. Every hero knew that they had a chance of dying when they went into the hero gig, so why did they still do it? For justice? Now that he thought about it, there was no justice in it at all. If somebody did something the League didn't like, they took them out. They didn't even care to look at it from the 'bad guy's point of view. Like the whole situation with the Runaways, they were scared, angry teens that were being used. But what was rest of the League didn't want them running around, so they asked Jaime to do their dirty work and lock them up again. He was glad that they ran from him, because now he wasn't a pawn for the League.

And where was the rest of the League anyways? On another planet getting charged with terrorizing an entire galactic system because they were stupid and weak and let a mad man get control of them. Were those really people he would feel safe with protecting his planet, trust them enough to keep his Earth safe, with guarding his life? No. They were the real threats. Not the villians, not the aliens. It was the damned Justice League that was tearing their world apart. Was Jaime really going to let them get away with that?

No, no he wouldn't.

Jaime was starting to get angry again, because now he understood. The League was using him as a pawn, just another soldier to fight a war that didn't need to be fought. He was a puppet at the hands of idiots. Power hungry idiots. Maybe the Reach was right in wanting to take control of the Earth. Maybe they would be better at controlling the chaos than the League was, or the League thought they were controlling. Maybe, just maybe the Reach wasn't so bad after all. And maybe, they would let Jaime help them.

_No! _He thought suddenly. _No, think of Bart! You know what happens when the Reach takes control of the Earth, you know what they, what _you _will do to him! You've seen the scars! It's a bad idea! Don't do it!_

No, he didn't know Bart in that future. He would never hurt the boy now that he knew him. If he sided with the Reach and presented the speedster as his mate, surely they would keep him safe. So, that was his plan. He would switch to the better side of the war and take Bart with him, and together they could make the world safer, make a brighter future for the Earth with the help of the Reach. The Reach was good.

Jaime smiled sickly at the boy on his knees infront of him, and raised the plasma cannon to his forehead once again. Though this boy resembled his mate, Jaime could sense Bart's presence in a different part of his mind, along with the Martian. He watched in fascination as the bright glow of his cannon charging illuminated they terrified boy's face. A strong hand fell onto his shoulder, and for a moment, Jaime glanced back at it's owner. Black Beetle stared appprovingly at him, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Do it, Brother."

Jaime nodded firmly and turned back to face the crying boy with determination. He squinted down condescendingly at the weak meat infront of him, contemplating if he should really pull the trigger on him. He couldn't stay with the League. They were lying dictators, and he refused to play a part in their game. He would go to the Reach instead. They wanted him more anyways. And he would finally have a mentor. Black Beetle would teach him how to control his suit, wouldn't he? Of course he would. Bart would be by his side too, cheering him on as he made the world a better place. Jaime wanted this. He wanted to be in his rightful place as a real hero. He wanted to be treated as a champion, praised and not ignored. He wanted Bart to be permenantly his. He wanted his family to be in a better world. The Reach could give him that. Jaime wanted the Reach. The teen watched his plasma cannon reach it's maximum charge and nodded once again, mostly in assurance to himself, and pressed it further against the wailing boy's skin.

The sound of the shot firing would forever burn in his mind.

**A/N: It's been done! Jaime is officially corrupted by the Reach and has changed sides! He is on Mode! If you thought shit was hitting the fan before, now it's stuck to it and being thrown in all directions. No one is safe from my shit-fan, guys. NO ONE. Next chapter should be updated soon, since I have nothing to do tomorrow. Please, please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter! Tell me how you feel about what happened! Tell me what you think will happen next! So, please leave a review and make my day, becauseI need a lot of motivation to post the next chapter. It's crazy. Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I just can't stop throwing shit at the fan, guys. Sorry. "****Mi compañera" is supposed to mean "my mate" but I can't trust Google Translate now so when you see Jaime call Bart that, just know what it means. But HOLY SHIT THAT EPISODE YESTERDAY. MY FEELS WERE EXPLODING ALL OVER THE DAMN PLACE AND JAIME'S SASSY LITTLE COMMENTS JUST BLEW UP MY OVARIES AND FINALLY SOME BLUEPULSE. AND I TOTALLY CALLED KHAJI DAH BEING A GOOD GUY. Ahem, sorry. I just loved the episode so friggin' much. I am so so sorry about the delayed update again. Stuff has been happening at school and my mum has some boob problems and yeah -.- Oh well. Anyways, sorry again. This has some fluff (suprisingly) so beware of my exploding feels.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.**

The short ginger thrashed wildly in the iron arms constricting him, kicking and flailing as an attempt of escape. He was screaming at the top of his lungs for help but, seeing as most of his teammates were laying unconscious on the floor and the rest were fighting uselessly against the traitor, no one came to his aid. How Blue Beetle managed to hold Impulse in one arm and fight off the whole team with the other, Bart would never know, but he did with surprising strength. The speedster pushed at Jaime's armor clad arm, yearning to get free, but the Mexican's grip on him only tightened. He yelled out for help again, but the last person standing, Robin, fell to the floor in a heap of limp limbs just as he did so, smothering the flame of hope Bart had for a rescue.

Jaime stood still for a moment, completely unnaffected by the protesting boy in his hold, and admired his work. He wasn't proud that he had to take down his friends in order to run. No, he had actually grown quite fond of them, but it was necessary. They would never have let him leave, especially with Bart. Speaking of his mate...

Impulse cried out, struggling against the Latino boy and hitting him pathetically, trying to ignore the chuckles that came from Jaime's mouth. The taller boy wrapped both arms around the ginger's midsection, constricting his arms at the same time. He hugged him tightly to his chest and nuzzled his armored face into the crook of Bart's neck, smiling when the green eyed boy's breathe hitched. "Blue..?"

"_Mi compañera_," He whispered huskily against his pale skin. "You need to stop fighting this."

"But...It's not you! It's the Reach controlling you!" He twisted and turned in the embrace he was trapped in. "Look what they made you do to our friends! Please, just put me down."

Jaime ignored his pleas and brushed his chapped lips across his neck, which seemed to hum in response. Finding a suitable place, Jaime concentrated his attack there, opening his mouth slightly to suck on the flesh before him. Bart gasped in surprise and froze, stunned by his friend's actions. "Wha-what are you doing?"

"Marking my territory." He murmured.

Jaime bit down lightly, just enough to bruise, and traced the pattern with his tongue. He wasn't doing this for fun, though it _was _extremely fun, but to show the Reach that yes, Bart was his mate and no, they could not hurt him. The hickey would prove that Impulse belonged to Blue Beetle and that the aliens were not allowed to harm him in any way. Besides, Bart needed to know who he answered to.

After a moment, Jaime detached his lips from Bart's neck and held him out at arms length, the younger boy's feet dangling as he admired him. A large, red and purple stain sat directly above his collarbone, yelling to the world that he was already claimed. Jaime liked it. He liked it alot. Like when a child in school had done great on an assignment, the teacher praising the paper and showing it off to the class, and all the child could think about was how great it felt that everyone could see their name on it. He felt the same with Bart. He wanted to show the amazing, wonderful man off to the entire world with his name worn proudly on him.

Bart cringed at the predatory look the Mexican was giving him, his eyes raking over him in an unsettling way. Bart wouldn't have minded the _undressing you with my eyes _stare if it had been his Jaime, but this wasn't his Jaime. This was the Reach's Jaime. And the Reach's Jaime scared him. He shivered and tore his gaze from the monster's familiar face, instead choosing to weakly glare at the fallen body of Beast Boy. _Why don't you just get up already? Instead of saving me you're just going to take a nap? Oh, real crash, Gar. Real crash._

Blue Beetle smiled warmly, succumbing to the pride bubbling in his chest. His family would be taken care of, Bart would be his lover, and he would be important. Wanted. Needed. Jaime would provide for his family and Bart, and his mother could finally stop working so hard. She could take the break everyone knew she deserved, and all of her worries would be gone. Jaime wanted to do this for his mother, for his beautiful baby sister, and the scarred ginger he was holding. _Was _holding...

"_Shit_."

He whipped around, firing a large metal staple that peirced the unmoving air and stabbed into a wall. Bart got caught inbetween it and was flung into the wall, his body hitting aginst the cement roughly. He yelped, his eyes wide and pleading as he stared at Jaime with a 'kicked puppy' look. "Blue, please! Just let me go!"

He didn't want to go to the Reach. He was terrified by them, tortured by them, broken by them. He couldn't go through that again...He would rather_ die _than be dragged to the hell he was certain would be waiting for him. And as the armor clad teen stepped towards him, moving slowly like an animal stalking his prey, Bart noticed just how much he'd prefer death than returning to his future nightmares. He couldn't live with knowing Jaime was corrupted, that he failed all of mankind, that all of his hard efforts in going back in time and saving people were just not enough. He just couldn't. So he wouldn't.

"Now why would I do that?" Jaime asked curiously, his accent curving his words to sound much darker than he meant. "I want you to be with me, to follow me. Bart, don't fight this...I'm doing this for us-"

"For us? If you truly like me-"

"Love."

"-love me as much as you-Wait, what?"

God, that boy was so damn adorable. His face immediately softened into one of affection and suprise, his bright green eyes electric and a pink tinge painted across his face. The blush reached the tips of his exposed ears, blending into the red of his hair, and accented his pale features cutely. His mouth opened and closed, unsure of what words to form, and he stared at Jaime with such an...undescribable expression that it caused the older boy to melt into a pile of goo.

But what if Bart didn't feel the same way?

Well, he really didn't care. The adorable boy, _man_, didn't have to say it back. Especially at that time, surrounded by their fallen friends, but Jaime wanted him to know how he felt. It was important to him that he did. Maybe then Bart would understand his actions. Jaime smiled warmly, taking another step towards the pinned boy. "I said I love you."

"If you really did, you wouldn't do this."

Something snapped in Jaime then. He didn't know if it was Bart not repeating that four letter word, said boy not submitting himself to Jaime, or just his refusal. But it started a roaring tidal wave of fire in his heart, that rushed through every limb and overthrew any sensible thought in his rushing mind. He could feel the adrenaline pumping in beat with his fast pacing heart, the burning sensation in every organ, and the pangs of hurt in his chest. Was this rejection? Blue Beetle would not tolerate that.

"_What makes you think you have a say in this decision_?"

He was in his face in a flash, nose to nose with the short boy. His breathing was fast and puffed out onto Bart's face, which contorted into fear. He whimpered, his bottom lip trembling as Jaime snarled in his face. Blue didn't know how long he could tame the rage that screamed and punched at his protective walls, but he knew his barracades wouldn't last forever. And he didn't want to break the crying boy pinned to the wall more than he already was-

A shrill pang yelled over Jaime and Bart's breathes, and the Mexican teen fell limply to the floor with it. Mal stood behind where Bart's boyfriend was just moments before, the Gaurdian's helmet in his shaking hands. Bart sobbed dryly as the African American made quick work of helping him get out of the staple prison, and couldn't stop his wails and tears when he was free. Eventually Black Canary awoke, and rocked him back and forth to stop his cries. But he let his own walls down when they dragged Jaime away, to lock him away like some criminal, and cried with all of his young heart exposed. He sniffled and let hot, wet tears roll down his face as the blonde bird held him. No one judged his sudden weakness though.

After all, he was only a child.

**A/N: I am so so so sorry for the damn update issues! I love you all with a passion but it's difficult with my schedule...I will still try for y'all though! Anywho, next update will be extremely soon because I feel bad about the long wait. Please, leave a review! Even if you already have leave another telling me about wht you liked so I know more of what to write? Please? Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello, my loves! I am so very thankful to the people who reviewed! I will be sure to add in more PossessiveJaime! because every one seemed to like him a lot. It was really awkward for me to write the hickey part thing because I'm like...Urgh. There farthest I've ever gone was a short french kiss so...Discomfort. As for my complete failures at Spanish, I apoligize SO SO much. Google just sucks and I will take up everyone's offer on helping me! Anywho, I promised another chapter and here it is! It's short, but it's better than nothing...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.**

The room was made of an extremely high tech metal, which didn't dent worth a damn no matter how much pressure was thrown at it. The walls were a glaring silver that shone brightly in the blazing lights that made up most of the ceiling, and the floor was the exact same. One wall was completely made of glass, which was several inches thick, and a single air vent at the very top of it. This allowed Blue Beetle oxygen, and a way to speak to whomever was on the other side. He rarely had the chance to talk to anyone over the last several days, which he spent screaming and punching at the clear wall, other than Nightwing, Captain Atom, and Red Tornado. Superboy visited him once, but he left as quickly as he entered, refusing to listen to the Mexican teen yell.

But Bart never saw him.

It truly broke Jaime's heart, that the one person he wanted to be with most couldn't even stand to be in the same room as him. That the boy he fought so hard to protect thought of him as a monster. It angered Jaime, that he wouldn't even hear his side of the story, just because the future him did terrible things. Jaime wasn't going to become that...that_ thing _though. He was going to be his own person, he would carve his own path. But he couldn't explain that to Bart, because the ginger wasn't there. If the roles had been switched, Jaime would have done_ anything _to get into Arkham to see him. So why wouldn't Bart?

Those thoughts fueled him for the eighth day in row of beating the large window with his fists, taking no breaks to eat or sleep. He felt like he could collapse at any moment, but he willed his body to continue the abuse. The other inmates across the hall laughed hysterically at him, and the nurses set him pitiful glances, but he paid them no mind. His bleeding knuckles protested with every blow delivered to the wall, and his lungs and throat were raw from his constant screaming, but he ignored those too. He would break through, he just knew it, so he couldn't give up now.

Jaime let the armor retract into his Scarab, and rested his sweaty forehead against the stainless glass. His eyes shut clamped close so the musky water drooling from his poors wouldn't blind him, his eyebrows furrowed, and his nostrils flared. He let his arms drop to his sides and concentrated on leveling his breathing, which was rapid and harsh. He was going to break through the barrier, and he wouldn't stop until he did but...he needed a quick rest. Just to shut his eyes for a bit. He would...he would continue in a moment. His eyes were just...really..._really_ droopy...

"Is he dead?"

"I don't know. Should we poke him with a stick?"

Jaime's eyes fluttered open slowly, and he stared at the blurry figures on the other side of the glass. It took a long moment for his eyes to adjust in his drowsy state, but eventually the colorful blobs revealed themselves to be people. Very familiar people. A green skinned boy with messy forest coloured hair stood infront of a smiling man, who's night dark hair matched the black spandex he wore. But they weren't the ones Jaime was fascinated by. The two who really caught his attention we're the Latinos, a mother and a daughter who watched his facial expression with sorrow. The daughter, a young girl who could be no older than eight, stared at him with wide, curious eyes, that were the same shade of brown as his own.

She hesitantly stepped towards the glass, her fragile, baby-soft hand reaching out to touch the clear surface. If the barrier hadn't been there, her palm would have rested on Jaime's hammering heart. The corner of his lips turned upwards slightly, and a much gentler persona replaced his angry one. Nightwing smirked at the exchange. Of course Milagro would calm her brother down, that was one of her many talents. When he had entered the Reyes household and explained what had really happened to the teen, they had been distraught, but quickly regained their composure and demanded to see Jaime. Milagro had practically dragged the Batman's protege out of their house and ordered him to show her where her big brother had gone. It was her loyalty, her devotion to her blood that made Dick realize what could fix Blue Beetle. He needed to see his loving family, and maybe then would he realize that he just_ had _to get off Mode. If not for himself, for his family. Jaime got on his knees to be eye level with his sister, and lifted his hand to reach hers.

But that _damn glass _stopped him from intertwining their fingers like he often did to comfort her.

He had to get out of there. He couldn't stand being cooped up like some animal, surrounded by crazy physcopaths. He wasn't crazy! Why did they stick him in some cage with these people? He didn't do anything wrong! He needed to leave. He needed to get away from that place. He couldn't stand to be there any more. He needed to go._ He needed to leave._

Rage painted across his feature, and the sudden mood change startled Milagro. She staggered back, watching her brother's face contort into a mix of fear and pure hate. Nightwing lightly pushed Beast Boy out of the way to usher Milagro down the hall. "I think you all need to leave."

He didn't want the young girl to witness the beating her brother would give to the thick glass, or watch him turn into the monster they tried so hard to conceal. Milagro protested of course, but Dick was stronger and simply lifted her into his arms. Beast Boy took their mother's hand and began to lead her away, just as Jaime began to punch the clear wall. She began to cry, tears water-falling down her trembling cheeks as she watched her_ baby _pound at the barrier seperating them. He was yelling in Spanish, screaming terrible things, but it was when she was being pulled away by the strange green boy did she hear the most heartbreaking wail.

"_Please don't leave me, too, mama_!"

**A/N: Extremely short but it should get you through until Saturday. Woot woot. Can somebody give me more information on Jaime's family? I have one Blue Beetle comic but it doesn't have them in it, I was supposed to go to the comic book store on Wednesday to get the first several Blue Beetle issues but some stuff happened and yeah...Please, leave a review on your thoughts and opinions! Thanks for reading!**


	10. Author's Note for Peter

**A/N: This is just an Author's Note, you can ignore it. I just wanted to, uh, clarify some flaws in my story. **

** I wanted to say to **_**Peter**_**, who commented on Chapter 4: I swear to God I did not mean Connor and Bart were arguing over who got to take Jaime's**_** virginity **_**when he woke up. I meant who got to take his time first, like hanging out with him and stuff. Taking care of him, watching cartoons and fluffy shit like that, not...sex. If my best friend or brother just woke up from some sort of coma, I would want to be the first person to spend time with him. I would feel like it's my right to. Do you understand? I apologize if it came off as them wanting to...ya know. That's not at all what I meant for it to sound like and I will definetly work on my word choice to make sure something like this does not happen again. **

** As for my knowledge on gay couples and stuff...I'm bisexual. As in, I like boys and girls. And I've had plenty of **_**fluffy**_** relationships with girls. I know it's not all about sex. Hell, in the relationships I've had with girls the furthest we've gotten was a kiss. That's it. But, once again, I apologize to you. I realize it is a mistake on my part for poor word choice. Sorry.**

** But for me getting my knowledge from "crap shows" like Glee...I kinda like Glee. Kind of alot. Not too much, the characters can be a little annoying, but I like it enough. Please, do not insult shows or stereotype their viewers.**

** But I do appreciate that you reviewed. Thanks for reading.**

_**-Celi**_


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